Ovulation leads women to perceive sexy cads as good dads

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Volumn 103, Issue 2, 2012, Pages 292-305

  Durante, Kristina M ^a   Griskevicius, Vladas ^b   Simpson, Jeffry A ^c   Cantú, Stephanie M ^c   Li, Norman P ^d  

^a UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA   (United States)

^d SINGAPORE MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY   (Singapore)

Author keywords

Evolutionary psychology; Fertility; Mate selection; Mating; Ovulation

Indexed keywords

ADOLESCENT; ADULT; ARTICLE; FEMALE; HUMAN; MALE; MARRIAGE; OVULATION; PERCEPTION; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; SEXUAL BEHAVIOR;

ADOLESCENT; FEMALE; HUMANS; MALE; MARRIAGE; OVULATION; SEXUAL BEHAVIOR; SOCIAL PERCEPTION; YOUNG ADULT;

EID: 84871673003     PISSN: 00223514     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1037/a0028498     Document Type: Article

References (100)

1. Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
2. Belsky, J., Steinberg, L., & Draper, P. (1991). Childhood experience, interpersonal development, and reproductive strategy: An evolutionary theory of socialization. Child Development, 62, 647-670. doi:10.2307/1131166
3. Brumbaugh, C. C., & Fraley, R. C. (2006). The evolution of attachment in romantic relationships. In M. Mikulincer & G. Goodman (Eds.), The dynamics of romantic love: Attachment, caregiving, and sex (pp. 71-101). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
4. Bullivant, S. B., Sellergren, S. A., Stern, K., Spencer, N. A., Jacob, S., Mennella, J. A., & McClintock, M. K. (2004). Women's sexual experience during the menstrual cycle: Identification of the sexual phase by noninvasive measurement of luteinizing hormone. Journal of Sex Research, 41, 82-93. doi:10.1080/00224490409552216
5. Buss, D. M. (1991). Mate selection for good parenting skills. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 14, 520-521. doi:10.1017/S0140525X00071107
6. Buss, D. M. (2003). The evolution of desire: Strategies of human mating. New York, NY: Basic Books.
7. Buss, D. M., Abbott, M., Angleitner, A., Asherian, A., Biaggio, A., Blanco Villasenor, A.,Yang, K.-S. (1990). International preferences in selecting mates: A study of 37 societies. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 21, 5-47. doi:10.1177/0022022190211001
8. Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. P. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: A contextual evolutionary analysis of human mating. Psychological Review, 100, 204-232. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.100.2.204
9. Buss, D. M., & Shackelford, T. K. (2008). Attractive women want it all: Good genes, economic investment, parenting proclivities, and emotional commitment. Evolutionary Psychology, 6, 134-146.
10. Campbell, W. K., Foster, C. A., & Finkel, E. J. (2002). Does self-love lead to love for others? A story of narcissistic game playing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 340-354. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.83.2.340
11. Chisholm, J. S. (1999). Attachment and time preference: Relations between early stress and sexual behavior in a sample of American university women. Human Nature, 10, 51-83. doi:10.1007/s12110-999-1001-1
12. Clark, R. D., III, & Hatfield, E. (1989). Gender differences in receptivity to sexual offers. Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality, 2, 39-55. doi:10.1300/J056v02n01_04
13. Confer, J. C., Easton, J. A., Fleischman, D. S., Goetz, C. D., Lewis, D. M., Perilloux, C., & Buss, D. M. (2010). Evolutionary psychology: Controversies, questions, prospects, and limitations. American Psychologist, 65, 110-126.
14. DeBruine, L. M., Jones, B. C., Frederick, D. A., Haselton, M. G., Penton-Voak, I. S., & Perrett, D. I. (2010). Evidence for menstrual cycle shifts in women's preferences for masculinity: A response to Harris (in press) "Menstrual cycle and facial preferences reconsidered." Evolutionary Psychology, 8, 768-775.
15. DeBruine, L. M., Jones, B. C., & Perrett, D. I. (2005). Women's attractiveness judgments of self-resembling faces change across the menstrual cycle. Hormones and Behavior, 47, 379-383. doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2004.11.006
16. Draper, P., & Belsky, J. (1990). Personality development in evolutionary perspective. Journal of Personality, 58, 141-161. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1990.tb00911.x
17. Draper, P., & Harpending, H. (1982). Father absence and reproductive strategy: An evolutionary perspective. Journal of Anthropological Research, 38, 255-273.
18. Durante, K. M., Griskevicius, V., Hill, S. E., Perilloux, C., & Li, N. P. (2011). Ovulation, female competition, and product choice: Hormonal influences on consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Research, 37(5). doi:10.1086/656575
19. Durante, K. M., Li, N. P., & Haselton, M. G. (2008). Changes in women's choice of dress across the ovulatory cycle: Naturalistic and laboratory task-based evidence. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 1451-1460. doi:10.1177/0146167208323103
20. Durocher, L., & Linn, E. (1975). Nice guys finish last. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
21. Ellis, B. J. (2004). Timing of pubertal maturation in girls: An integrated life history approach. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 920-958. doi:10.1037/ 0033-2909.130.6.920
22. Ellis, B. J. (2005). Individual differences in pubertal timing: An evolutionary-developmental approach. In B. J. Ellis & D. F. Bjorklund (Eds.), Origins of the social mind: Evolutionary psychology and child development (pp. 164-188). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
23. Feinberg, D. R., Jones, B. C., Law Smith, M. J., Moore, F. R., DeBruine, L. M., Cornwell, R. E.,Perrett, D. I. (2006). Menstrual cycle, trait estrogen level, and masculinity preferences in the human voice. Hormones and Behavior, 49, 215-222. doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2005.07.004
24. Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
25. Flannery, D. J., Rowe, D. C., & Gulley, B. L. (1993). Impact of pubertal status, timing, and age on adolescent sexual experience and delinquency. Journal of Adolescent Research, 8, 21-40. doi:10.1177/074355489381003
26. Fleischman, D. S., Navarrete, C. D., & Fessler, D. M. T. (2010). Oral contraceptives suppress ovarian hormone production. Psychological Science, 21, 750-752. doi:10.1177/0956797610368062
27. Fletcher, G. J. O., Simpson, J. A., Thomas, G., & Giles, L. (1999). Ideals in intimate relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 72-89. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.76.1.72
28. Frederick, D. A., & Haselton, M. G. (2007). Why is muscularity sexy? Tests of the fitness indicator hypothesis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 1167-1183. doi:10.1177/0146167207303022
29. Furstenberg, F. F., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Chase-Lansdale, L. (1989). Teenaged pregnancy and childbearing. American Psychologist, 44, 313-320. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.44.2.313
30. Gangestad, S. W., Garver-Apgar, C. E., Simpson, J. A., & Cousins, A. J. (2007). Changes in women's mate preferences across the ovulatory cycle. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 151-163. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.92.1.151
31. Gangestad, S. W., & Simpson, J. A. (2000). The evolution of human mating: Trade-offs and strategic pluralism. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 23, 573-587. doi:10.1017/S0140525X0000337X
32. Gangestad, S. W., Simpson, J. A., Cousins, A. J., Garver-Apgar, C. E., & Christensen, P. N. (2004). Women's preferences for male behavioral displays across the menstrual cycle. Psychological Science, 15, 203-207. doi:10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.01503010.x
33. Gangestad, S. W., & Thornhill, R. (1997). Human sexual selection and developmental stability. In J. A. Simpson & D. T. Kenrick (Eds.), Evolutionary social psychology (pp. 169-196). Mahwah, N J: Erlbaum.
34. Gangestad, S. W., & Thornhill, R. (1998). Menstrual cycle variation in women's preferences for the scent of symmetrical men. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 265, 927-933. doi:10.1098/ rspb.1998.0380
35. Gangestad, S. W., & Thornhill, R. (2008). Human oestrus. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 275, 991-1000. doi:10.1098/ rspb.2007.1425
36. Gangestad, S. W., Thornhill, R., & Garver, C. E. (2002). Changes in women's sexual interests and their partner's mate-retention tactics across the menstrual cycle: Evidence for shifting conflicts of interest. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 269, 975-982. doi:10.1098/rspb.2001.1952
37. Gangestad, S. W., Thornhill, R., & Garver-Apgar, C. E. (2005). Women's sexual interest across the ovulatory cycle depending on primary partner fluctuating asymmetry. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 272, 2023-2027. doi:10.1098/rspb.2005.3112
38. Gangestad, S. W., Thornhill, R., & Garver-Apgar, C. E. (2010). Fertility in the cycle predicts women's interest in sexual opportunism. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31, 400-411. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.05.003
39. Garver-Apgar, C. E., Gangestad, S. W., Thornhill, R., Miller, R. D., & Olp, J. J. (2006). Major histocompatibility complex alleles, sexual responsivity, and unfaithfulness in romantic couples. Psychological Science, 17, 830-835. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01789.x
40. Gottlieb, L. (2010). Marry him: The case for settling for Mr. Good Enough. New York, NY: Dutton.
41. Griskevicius, V., Cialdini, R. B., & Kenrick, D. T. (2006). Peacocks, Picasso, and parental investment: The effects of romantic motives on creativity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 63-76. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.91.1.63
42. Griskevicius, V., Tybur, J. M., Sundie, J. M., Cialdini, R. B., Miller, G. F., & Kenrick, D. T. (2007). Blatant benevolence and conspicuous consumption: When romantic motives elicit strategic costly signals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 85-102. doi:10.1037/0022 3514.93.1.85
43. Haselton, M. G., & Buss, D. M. (2000). Error management theory: A new perspective on biases in cross-sex mind reading. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 81-91. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.78.1.81
44. Haselton, M. G., & Gangestad, S. W. (2006). Conditional expression of women's desires and men's mate guarding across the ovulatory cycle. Hormones and Behavior, 49, 509-518. doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2005.10.006
45. Haselton, M. G., & Miller, G. F. (2006). Women's fertility across the cycle increases the short-term attractiveness of creative intelligence compared to wealth. Human Nature, 17, 50-73. doi:10.1007/s12110-006-1020-0
46. Haselton, M. G., & Nettle, D. (2006). The paranoid optimist: An integrative evolutionary model of cognitive biases. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 47-66. doi:10.1207/s15327957pspr1001_3
47. Holmes, J. G.,&Rempel, J. K. (1989). Trust in close relationships. In C. Hendrick (Ed.), Close relationships (pp. 187-220). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
48. Hughes, S. M., & Gallup, G. G., Jr. (2003). Sex differences in morphological predictors of sexual behavior: Shoulder to hip and waist to hip ratios. Evolution and Human Behavior, 24, 173-178. doi:10.1016/ S1090-5138(02)00149-6
49. Jobling, I. (2002). Byron as cad. Philosophy and Literature, 26, 296-311. doi:10.1353/phl.2003.0010
50. Johnston, V. S., Hagel, R., Franklin, M., Fink, B., & Grammer, K. (2001). Male facial attractiveness: Evidence for a hormone-mediated adaptive design. Evolution and Human Behavior, 22, 251-267. doi:10.1016/S1090-5138(01)00066-6
51. Jonason, P. K., Li, N. P., Webster, G. D., & Schmitt, D. P. (2009). The dark triad: Facilitating a short-term mating strategy in men. European Journal of Personality, 23, 5-18. doi:10.1002/per.698
52. Jonason, P. K., & Tost, J. (2010). I just cannot control myself: The dark triad and self-control. Personality and Individual Differences, 49, 611-615. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2010.05.031
53. Jonason, P. K., & Webster, G. D. (2010). The dirty dozen: A concise measure of the dark triad. Psychological Assessment, 22, 420-432. doi:10.1037/a0019265
54. Jones, B. C., Boothroyd, L. G., Feinberg, D. R., & DeBruine, L. M. (2010). Age at menarche predicts individual differences in women's preferences for masculinized male voices in adulthood. Personality and Individual Differences, 48, 860-863. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2010.02.007
55. Jones, B. C., DeBruine, L. M., Perrett, D. I., Little, A. C., Feinberg, D. R., & Law Smith, M. J. (2008). Effects of menstrual cycle phase on face preferences. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37, 78-84. doi:10.1007/s10508-007-9268-y
56. Kelley, H. H. (1979). Personal relationships: Their structures and processes. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
57. Kenrick, D. T., Griskevicius, V., Neuberg, S. L., & Schaller, M. (2010). Renovating the pyramid of needs: Contemporary extensions built upon ancient foundations. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5, 292-314. doi:10.1177/1745691610369469
58. Kim, K., & Smith, P. K. (1998). Retrospective survey of parental marital relations and child reproductive development. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 22, 729-751. doi:10.1080/016502598384144
59. Kim, K., Smith, P. K., & Palermiti, A. (1997). Conflict in childhood and reproductive development. Evolution and Human Behavior, 18, 109-142. doi:10.1016/S1090-5138(96)00114-6
60. Kruger, D., Fisher, M., & Jobling, I. (2003). Proper and dark heroes as dads and cads. Human Nature, 14, 305-317. doi:10.1007/s12110-003-1008-y
61. Lancaster, J. B., & Kaplan, H. (1992). Human mating and family formation strategies: The effects of variability among males in quality and the allocation of mating effort and parental investment. In T. Nishida, W. C. McGrew, P. Marler, M. Pickford, & F. B. deWaal (Eds.), Topics in primatology (pp. 21-33). Tokyo, Japan: University of Tokyo Press.
62. Li, N. P., Bailey, J. M., Kenrick, D. T., & Linsenmeier, J. A. W. (2002). The necessities and luxuries of mate preferences: Testing the trade-offs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 947-955. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.82.6.947
63. Li, N. P., & Kenrick, D. T. (2006). Sex similarities and differences in preferences for short-term mates: What, whether, and why. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 468-489. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.90.3.468
64. Little, A. C., Jones, B. C., & DeBruine, L. M. (2008). Preferences for variation in masculinity in real male faces change across the menstrual cycle. Personality and Individual Differences, 45, 478 -482. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2008.05.024
65. Louis, R., & Copeland, D. (2007). How to be the bad boy women love: Getting hot women to pursue you by being a "hard to get" man. Madison, WI: Mastery Technologies.
66. Lukaszewski, A. W.,&Roney, J. R. (2009). Estimated hormones predict women's mate preferences for dominant personality traits. Personality and Individual Differences, 47, 191-196. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2009.02.019
67. Luster, T., & Mittelstaedt, M. (1993). Adolescent mothers. In T. Luster & L. Okagaki (Eds.), Parenting: An ecological perspective (pp. 69-99). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
68. Lykken, D. T., & Tellegen, A. (1993). Is human mating adventitious or the result of lawful choice? A twin study of mate selection. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 56-68. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.65.1.56
69. Mayr, E. (1988). Toward a new philosophy of biology: Observations of an evolutionist. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
70. McDaniel, A. K. (2005). Young women's dating behavior: Why/why not date a nice guy? Sex Roles, 53, 347-359. doi:10.1007/s11199-005-6758-z
71. Møller, A. P., & Thornhill, R. (1998). Male parental care, differential parental investment by females and sexual selection. Animal Behaviour, 55, 1507-1515. doi:10.1006/anbe.1998.0731
72. Murray, S. L. (1999). The quest for conviction: Motivated cognition in romantic relationships. Psychological Inquiry, 10, 23-34. doi:10.1207/ s15327965pli1001_3
73. Murray, S. L., Holmes, J. G., Dolderman, D., & Griffin, D. W. (2000). What the motivated mind sees: Comparing friends' perspectives to married partners' views of each other. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 36, 600-620. doi:10.1006/jesp.1999.1417
74. Murray, S. L., Holmes, J. G., & Griffin, D. W. (1996a). The benefits of positive illusions: Idealization and the construction of satisfaction in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 79-98. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.70.1.79
75. Murray, S. L., Holmes, J. G., & Griffin, D. W. (1996b). The self-fulfilling nature of positive illusions in romantic relationships: Love is not blind, but prescient. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 1155-1180. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.71.6.1155
76. Paulhus, D. L. (2001). Normal narcissism: Two minimalist accounts. Psychological Inquiry, 12, 228-230.
77. Paulhus, D. L., & Williams, K. M. (2002). The dark triad of personality: Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Journal of Research in Personality, 36, 556-563. doi:10.1016/S0092-6566(02)00505-6
78. Penton-Voak, I. S., & Perrett, D. I. (2000). Female preference for male faces changes cyclically-Further evidence. Evolution and Human Behavior, 21, 39-48. doi:10.1016/S1090-5138(99)00033-1
79. Penton-Voak, I. S., Perrett, D. I., Castles, D. L., Kobayashi, T., Burt, D. M., Murray, L. K., & Minamisawa, R. (1999, June 24). Menstrual cycle alters face preference. Nature, 399, 741-742. doi:10.1038/21557
80. Pillsworth, E. G., & Haselton, M. G. (2006). Male sexual attractiveness predicts differential ovulatory shifts in female extra-pair attraction and male mate retention. Evolution and Human Behavior, 27, 247-258. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2005.10.002
81. Pillsworth, E. G., Haselton, M. G., & Buss, D. M. (2004). Ovulatory shifts in female sexual desire. Journal of Sex Research, 41, 55-65. doi: 10.1080/00224490409552213
82. Puts, D. A. (2005). Mating context and menstrual phase affect female preferences for male voice pitch. Evolution and Human Behavior, 26, 388-397. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2005.03.001
83. Rhodes, G., Simmons, L. W., & Peters, M. (2005). Attractiveness and sexual behavior: Does attractiveness enhance mating success? Evolution and Human Behavior, 26, 186-201. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2004.08.014
84. Schmitt, D. P. (2005). Sociosexuality from Argentina to Zimbabwe: A 48 nation study of sex, culture, and strategies of human mating. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 28, 247-275. doi:10.1017/S0140525X05000051
85. Simpson, J. A., & Gangestad, S. (1992). Sociosexuality and romantic partner choice. Journal of Personality, 60, 31-51. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1992.tb00264.x
86. Simpson, J. A., Gangestad, S. W., Christensen, P. N., & Leck, K. (1999). Fluctuating asymmetry, sociosexuality, and intrasexual competitive tactics. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 159-172. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.76.1.159
87. Smith, F. G., Jones, B. C., Little, A. C., DeBruine, L. M., Welling, L. L. M., Vukovic, J., & Conway, C. A. (2009). Hormonal contraceptive use and perceptions of trust modulate the effect of relationship context on women's preferences for sexual dimorphism in male face shape. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology, 7, 195-210. doi:10.1556/JEP.7.2009.3.1
88. Sundie, J. M., Kenrick, D. T., Griskevicius, V., Tybur, J. M., Vohs, K. D., & Beal, D. J. (2011). Peacocks, Porsches, and Thorstein Veblen: Conspicuous consumption as a sexual signaling system. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100, 664-680. doi:10.1037/a0021669
89. Tancredy, C. M., & Fraley, R. C. (2006). The nature of adult twin relationships: An attachment-theoretical perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 78-93. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.90.1.78
90. Taylor, S. E., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (1995). Effects of mindset on positive illusions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 213-226. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.69.2.213
91. Thornhill, R., & Gangestad, S. W. (1994). Fluctuating asymmetry correlates with lifetime sex partner numbers and age at first sex in Homo sapiens. Psychological Science, 5, 297-302. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1994.tb00629.x
92. Thornhill, R.,&Gangestad, S. W. (2003). Do women have evolved adaptation for extra-pair copulation? In K. Grammer & E. Voland (Eds.), Evolutionary aesthetics (pp. 341-368). Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag.
93. Thornhill, R., & Gangestad, S. W. (2006). Facial sexual dimorphism, develo -mental stability, and susceptibility to disease in men and women. Evolution and Human Behavior, 27, 131-144. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2005.06.001
94. Thornhill, R., & Gangestad, S. W. (2008). The evolutionary biology of human female sexuality. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
95. Thornhill, R., Gangestad, S. W., Miller, R., Scheyd, G., Knight, J., & Franklin, M. M. (2003). MHC, symmetry, and body scent attractiveness in men and women. Behavioral Ecology, 14, 668-678. doi:10.1093/beheco/arg043
96. Udry, J. R. (1979). Age at menarche, at first intercourse, and at first pregnancy. Journal of Biosocial Science, 11, 433-441. doi:10.1017/ S0021932000012517
97. Van Lange, P. A. M., Rusbult, C. E., Drigotas, S. M., Arriaga, X. B., Witcher, B. S., & Cox, C. L. (1997). Willingness to sacrifice in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 1373-1395. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.72.6.1373
98. Waynforth, D. (2001). Mate choice trade-offs and women's preferences for physically attractive men. Human Nature, 12, 207-219. doi:10.1007/s12110-001-1007-9
99. Waynforth, D., Delwadia, S., & Camm, M. (2005). The influence of women's mating strategies on preference for masculine facial architecture. Evolution and Human Behavior, 26, 409 -416. doi:10.1016/ j.evolhumbehav.2005.03.003
100. Wilcox, A. J., Dunson, D. B., Weinberg, C. R., Trussell, J., & Baird, D. D. (2001). Likelihood of conception with a single act of intercourse: Providing benchmark rates for assessment of post-coital contraceptives. Contraception, 63, 211-215.